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Olney’s Latest: Lyon, Cabrera, Castillo

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The latest from ESPN’s Buster Olney.

  • Olney says the Brewers "might take a look at" free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who’s been linked in other reports to the Twins and Red Sox.  It’s been reported that Lyon seeks a multiyear deal and may wait until Brian Fuentes signs.  Nick Piecoro suggested that one unknown Lyon suitor views him as a starter.
  • Olney says the Brewers will probably reach out to Trevor Hoffman, and the Dodgers will also take a look.  He adds that the Dodgers will not attempt to re-sign Derek Lowe despite his sinking price tag.
  • The Dodgers turned back to Rafael Furcal after realizing Orlando Cabrera had an asking price close to the amount Furcal signed for.  The market for Cabrera seems weak, perhaps since he will cost a draft pick.  Cabrera signing with the Dodgers would’ve been ideal for the White Sox, who would’ve swiped L.A.’s #17 draft pick in June.
  • Olney says the Mets continue to attempt to unload Luis Castillo, who has $18MM left on his deal.
  • Interesting note: "For the first time in recent memory, the Yankees’ offices will be closed in the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day — one of the signs of the more measured leadership of Hal Steinbrenner."

Twins Rumors: Lyon, Wigginton, DeRosa

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La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest on the Twins.

  • The Twins are one of several teams in on free agent reliever Brandon Lyon.
  • It does not seem that the Twins are pursuing Ty Wigginton.
  • Nothing new on the Twins’ rumored interest in Mark DeRosa; the two teams don’t match up well (the Twins are not willing to trade Jason Kubel).
  • Neal likes the match between the Twins and Brewers, but J.J. Hardy has not been discussed.

Brewers Not Close To Looper Deal

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5:41pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed interest in Looper but denied that they’re close to a deal.  Melvin would not say whether the Brewers made an offer, but suggested Looper and the Brewers’ other targets want multiyear deals.

10:28am: In the "Etc." section of his Sunday update, Nick Cafardo has some updated information on a few free agents, as well as some potential trades.

  • Updating a key part of the back-of-the-rotation market, Cafardo says Braden Looper is "close to signing with the Brewers."
  • The Diamondbacks and Red Sox may soon revisit the possibility of an Eric Byrnes trade. Such a deal would likely be made more enticing for the Sox if Miguel Montero were somehow included.
  • The Red Sox would really rather not move Clay Buchholz for a catcher, even if that catcher were Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden of the Texas Rangers. However, Daniel Bard may be in play for a potential deal with Texas.
  • The Reds, Indians, Pirates and Giants are all in the mix for Ty Wigginton. Back on Dec. 18, we had a Wigginton update in an Odds and Ends post that said the player was not interested in returning to Pittsburgh.

Other topics of note (found on page 5 of Cafardo’s article) include the Tampa Bay Rays’ plan for a DH upgrade, as well as some notes on Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.

Olney: Latest On Fuentes

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Buster Olney has an update on the future of Brian Fuentes. Fuentes will likely not be receiving the three-year, $30MM deal he was recently hoping for, says Olney, and could expect something closer to $15-18MM over the same three year period.

Olney looks at ten teams that could end up with Fuentes, with the St. Louis Cardinals at the top of the list (although it’s not quite clear that the ten teams are ranked on likelihood of acquiring the free agent). The Cardinals have been linked to Fuentes quite often this offseason, but are perhaps waiting for the price to come down on the free agent.

The Angels and Brewers are also mentioned; both these teams will need to replace their 2008 closers. Slightly more puzzling is Olney’s inclusion of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexwalshatmlbtr@gmail.com.

Gammons’ Latest: Teixeira, Cameron, Montero

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The latest blog post from ESPN’s Peter Gammons is up.

  • Gammons talked to a source close to Mark Teixeira who says Tex and the Red Sox are not that far apart.
  • The Yankees backed off on the Mike Cameron trade because Melky Cabrera is showing improved plate discipline in winter ball (his walk rate is up, though it’s only 15 games).  Additionally, Brett Gardner has believers in the organization.
  • The Diamondbacks were unwilling to trade catcher Miguel Montero to the Red Sox for Daniel Bard, while the Sox wouldn’t part with Michael Bowden.  Gammons says it hasn’t been seriously discussed but wonders if the Red Sox would eat the $22MM owed to Eric Byrnes to get Montero.
  • One part of the post that is getting attention is when Gammons names a bunch of things "we don’t know," implying that he suspects these things are possible.  For example: "We don’t know whether the Red Sox will decide not to pony up and sign Teixeira or whether there really might be a three-way deal among the White Sox, Angels and Reds that would put Jermaine Dye in Cincinnati, Joey Votto in Anaheim and Chone Figgins in Chicago."  So, not quite a trade rumor here.  The Reds would, of course, want more for Votto if he’s even available.  When this semi-rumor makes the rounds it must be discussed in the proper context – the paragraph’s theme was things we don’t know are accurate.

Odds And Ends: Cameron, Abreu, Treanor

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Links for Thursday night…

  • Brian Cashman phoned Doug Melvin to explain that he hadn’t called earlier because the Yanks have "a lot of things going on." The Brewers GM said he’s "probably going to hang on to" Mike Cameron.
  • Ozzie Guillen spoke with Bobby Abreu and said "interest exists" from the White Sox perspective.
  • GM Dave Dombrowski was part of the reason Matt Treanor chose the Tigers.
  • T.R. Sullivan continues to track interest in Ben Sheets, and doesn’t see the Yankees being very aggressive on that front.
  • Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell don’t deserve raises if you ask Rob Neyer, but he knows they’re likely to get them.
  • Kerry Wood sounds happy to be in Cleveland and has "no desire to ever start again."
  • The other top reliever to be introduced today, J.J. Putz, said he expected to become a Tiger.

Odds and Ends: Abreu, Millwood, Wigginton

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Links for Thursday…

Brewers Sign Trot Nixon, Chris Duffy

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The Brewers announced they’ve signed two outfielders to minor league deals: Trot Nixon and Chris Duffy.

Nixon, 35 in April, hit .309/.434/.558 in 181 Triple A at-bats before a trade to the Mets.  He played eleven games for the Mets before hitting the DL for a strained groin and then hernia surgery.

Duffy, 29 in April, amassed only 109 minor league ABs this year as he was limited by September ’07 shoulder surgery.

Heyman’s Latest: Perez, Greinke, Dye, Garland

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The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, non-Teixeira department…

  • Heyman describes the Mets’ chance of signing Oliver Perez as "remote for now." He names other "potential suitors" – the Brewers, Dodgers, Reds, and perhaps Mariners.
  • Apparently some Yankees people wouldn’t mind if Andy Pettitte passed on their $10MM offer, as they’d be able to pursue Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe.
  • The Red Sox "looked into" trading for Zack Greinke but didn’t like the price.
  • Heyman says the Reds, Braves, and Rays are still showing interest in Jermaine Dye.
  • He says the Dodgers, White Sox, and Mets "could be possibilities" for Jon Garland.  A return to Chicago?

Twins Still Exploring Shortstop Options

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According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins are still exploring shortstop options despite signing Nick Punto.

Two of the team’s targets do not seem available – J.J. Hardy and Yunel Escobar.  The Braves were hard-pressed to discuss Escobar even when they thought they had Rafael Furcal, though the Twins inquired.  And Doug Melvin is sticking to his stance on Hardy.

We talked about other failed Twins infield pursuits yesterday.

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